Sinsa Station Chinese restaurant abalone jjamppong with mom: Samsin

My mom came out for her hospital treatment and said let's eat before we go home. I wondered where to go, and ended up at Samsin Garosu-gil, a fusion Chinese restaurant right across the street from the hospital.

Where is Samsin Garosu-gil, and what are the opening hours?

• Address: 46 Gangnam-daero156-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (2nd and 3rd floors), South Korea
• Sun-Thu 11:00-23:00 / last order 22:00
• Fri-Sat 11:00-24:00 / last order 23:00
• Break time 16:00-17:00
• Naver Reservation available
• Group bookings possible
• Parking/valet available

I figured since Naver Reservation was available we'd get there quickly, right? But my mom could barely walk. I told her, see that spot over there? That's where we're headed. She said she couldn't make it and told me to just leave her behind, lol, which threw me off a bit. If it's this hard to get around, how are we ever going to travel... we really need to go out more often.

It's not far from Exit 8 of Sinsa Station. About a 5-minute walk, maybe 300 meters.

We had a hall reservation, and they seated us right near the entrance, which made things easy.

There's a certain not-quite-ordinary feel starting right from the entrance.

That looks like a haetae (a mythical lion-like guardian creature), doesn't it? When I made the reservation I noticed the room names were Dokkaebi (goblin), Haetae, and Girin (giraffe/qilin), so I wondered if Samsin refers to three Chinese guardian spirits.

The atmosphere is very upscale. Getting there was a struggle, but the moment we walked in, my mom lit up, haha.

What we ordered: galbi-jjim jajangmyeon 25,000 won and imperial samseon jjamppong 18,000 won

I'd read that the galbi-jjim jajangmyeon (braised short rib black bean noodles) was good, so I ordered it along with the imperial samseon jjamppong (seafood noodle soup). Galbi-jjim jajangmyeon ₩25,000, imperial samseon jjamppong ₩18,000. It's a fusion Chinese place so the names are all pretty distinctive, right?

I also love japtangbap (mixed seafood over rice), but since it was our first visit I figured we should stick to something more tried and tested.

My mom doesn't eat jjamppong. She doesn't do soupy dishes, but she's the type who still agonizes over jajangmyeon versus jjamppong. Why agonize over it though???

Full even on a weekday: a 20-40 minute wait without a reservation

The tableware was gleaming. Right after we sat down, another party came in and was told they'd have to wait. Since we were next to the counter, I could hear staff telling incoming guests to expect a 20-40 minute wait, and somehow it felt kind of lucky to already be seated. My mom said, "Wow, it's totally packed, how exciting!" It's usually busy like this, but everyone working the floor was smiling so warmly that it must have felt that way to her.

As a starter they brought out gonggalppang (a hollow puffed bread), which was delicious. A sweet little snack.

After we ordered and the staff cleared the paper menu, I noticed you could also order by QR code — it was underneath the menu so I'd missed it. These days plenty of places would just say "order by QR" and leave it at that, but they still took our order in person and were incredibly, incredibly kind about it.

Maybe Samsin refers to Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine coming together, haha. Anyway, there was a note above the menu. "The memory of a warm welcome"... and honestly, that's exactly how it felt.

A whole abalone in the imperial samseon jjamppong

The galbi-jjim jajangmyeon finally arrived. Since my mom loves jajangmyeon, I gave that to her and took the jjamppong for myself.

Oh, abalone!!! There's a whole abalone in there. Squid too, and the seafood just kept coming, no matter how much I ate, more seafood kept turning up.

Time to eat, shall we?

Taste-testing time.

She picked up a piece of galbi first, ate one, then handed one to her daughter too.

Nice plump baby octopus? Springy and delicious. The seafood felt really fresh — not like it had been simmered forever, but more like you were eating it fresh.

The broth is clean and delicious. My mom can't handle spicy food well, but this wasn't spicy while still being refreshing. I should've had a drink the night before, honestly.

Galbi-jjim jajangmyeon: how it tastes and how big the portion is

Found a giant mushroom!!! It was in the jajangmyeon, and instead of being mushy it had a firm, chewy texture. Really tasty. The black bean sauce wasn't overly heavy, more on the thick side. The seasoning was spot on and the noodles were chewy and delicious. I stuffed my mouth full with it. Generous portion.

Why my mother, who never eats jjamppong, asked to swap bowls

"Mom, try this." I gave her some baby octopus and she seemed to really like it. I scooped some into a small bowl for her.

Later she said the jjamppong broth was so refreshing that she asked to swap bowl positions. She doesn't even eat jjamppong, and here she was saying it was delicious and asking to switch — I was like, oh! She hasn't had much appetite lately and hasn't been eating well, but at Samsin she ate heartily. Was my food just not tasty enough...?

Enormous shrimp. Galbi that never seemed to run out no matter how much we ate. I tried wrapping noodles around a piece of galbi to take a photo but failed. Attempt 1.

Attempt 2, success! I think around 5 parties came in while we were eating, and some of them got seated once tables opened up. This is clearly a very popular restaurant. Since my mom's legs were hurting, she had trouble getting up, and someone held her hand to help her. (Thank you.)

Parking and reservations at Samsin Garosu-gil

Parking can be a hassle when you're eating out. Since valet parking is available here, I'd recommend making a reservation before you visit. People who came without one weren't able to eat.

What to order next time at Samsin Garosu-gil

I've been thinking about what to order on my next visit — the Tokyo-style tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and handmade dim sum caught my eye. I'd also like to try a course meal. If you're looking for something a bit different in Chinese cuisine and happen to be near Sinsa Station, you have to try this place.